Thursday, September 19, 2013

Back to the Fork in This Road

Emerging victorious in the discovery of how to map at least part of Mary Danehy Kelly’s family
constellation, I need to remember that this path I’ve now followed was—and still
is—a rabbit trail. The goal instigating this rambling detour was to discover
how Mary’s husband, Timothy Kelly, was related to our family’s John Kelly,
father of John Kelly Stevens’ wife, Catherine.

Got that?

My presumption upon starting this quest was that John and
Timothy Kelly were somehow related. After all, they were joint owners of a family burial plot at the Catholic Cemetery in Fort
Wayne, Indiana.

Since beginning this study, I can safely say that I’ve
learned a lot about the Timothy Kelly family—there is even more yet to post—but
it still hasn’t provided me any clues of his origins. Admittedly, I’ve found
obituaries and documentation on some of his children, and even brief reports on
the passing of his first wife, Ellen. We’ll continue the tour of this side
trail in the next few days by rounding out what we know about the rest of
Timothy and Ellen Kelly’s children.

There has also been much to discover about John Kelly and
his wife, Johanna. Let’s just say that’s the diverting point—that branch in the
road to which we need to work our way back. And we’ll do just that, barring any
other bright, shiny genealogical temptations, after we complete the tour of
Timothy and Ellen Kelly’s family tree.

I can’t guarantee that the study of each of these players in
the Kelly family history mystery will yield any more results. We may find
ourselves, upon completion of this assignment, wandering down yet another
branch of this family—the Falvey connection—still in search of those elusive
clues of the extended family’s Irish origins. The path seems to unfold only as
we keep walking along it.

At this juncture, my only observation is that I’m reminding
myself to enjoy the journey as well as relish arriving at the destination. It’s
been a pleasant surprise, re-introducing myself to the possibilities for
discovery at Find A Grave. Inspired by what I’ve found in the last few days, I’ve
spent time searching surnames by specific cemeteries—like “Kelly” in the Catholic Cemetery. Skimming down the surname results page from such a search, I look for the icon of the picture frame—sometimes,
those icons hint at not just family photographs but scanned resources like
those wonderful obituaries tucked away on the memorial pages of the Sweeneys we
just uncovered. Those provide details of arrivals from Ireland, early
work histories and community involvement.

Isn’t that what we want to help us
understand more of the flavor of our family’s history?

Isn't that the truth, Iggy! Well, what can you expect? I cut my genealogical teeth on researching Perry County, Ohio, where everybody is related! After a few years of researching in those surroundings, you come to expect it everywhere!

About Me

It is my contention that, after a lifetime, one of the greatest needs people have is to be remembered. They want to know: have I made a difference?
I write because I can't keep for myself the gifts others have entrusted to me. Through what I've already been given--though not forgetting those to whom I must pass this along--from family I receive my heritage; through family I leave a legacy. With family I weave a tapestry. These are my strands.